"He has everything it takes to be a great rider of the new generation" - João Almeida speaks highly of his teammate

At the recent 2025 Tour de Suisse, Portuguese cycling fans witnessed a special moment: two riders from the same generation, the same region and the same team joining forces in one of the most prestigious stage races on the international calendar. João Almeida and António Morgado, both from UAE Team Emirates - XRG, showed that two of the men who have brought so much joy to Portuguese cycling can ride side by side.

With five years separating them - Almeida is 26, Morgado turned 21 in January - the bond between the two goes far beyond the jersey they share. They are "almost neighbors", they are both from the West region and share the same hunger for victory. In Switzerland, this harmony translated into effective teamwork, with Morgado playing a key role in supporting Almeida to triumph in GC.

"António is still a young rider, he has a lot to learn, a lot to develop, he has a lot of room for progression," explains to A Bola João Almeida. "It will be a natural evolution in time, but he clearly has a lot of potential and can win very good races."

Despite his youth, Morgado already impresses with the maturity with which he positions himself in the peloton and his ability to deliver in demanding races. For Almeida, Morgado's profile points to a bright future: "The Classics, even some one-week races, I think are very well suited to his abilities. He has everything it takes to be a great new generation rider."

Even so, the road is long and requires continuous work. "Obviously there's still work to be done, but as I said, he's also very young. He's 20 or something like that. So he has many, many years ahead of him to learn and to progress. It's a long-term path that has to be taken, a staircase that you climb little by little."